This invention relates to electronic engine control systems, and more particularly to systems and methods of calibration of electronic engine control systems.
Field-programmable electronic engine control systems have enabled product enhancements to be made at a greatly reduced cost. One generic control module can be reprogrammed for many different applications, e.g., different engine ratings, without any changes to the physical configuration of the module. This concept is discussed in a paper by Lannan et al. entitled "Cummins Electronic Controls for Heavy Duty Diesel Engines," IEEE 88 CH2533-8, presented at tile International Congress on Transportation Electronics, Convergence 88, Dearborn, Michigan, Oct. 17-18, 1988, and in a paper by Stamper entitled "A Second Generation Approach to Service of Electronic Systems," SAE Paper No. 891681, presented at the Future of Transportation Technology Conference and Exposition, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, Aug. 7-10, 1989.
Various memory organization techniques have been suggested, making use of RAM, EPROM, EEPROM, or NVRAM, as illustrated by the following patents:
______________________________________ Patent No. Inventor Issue Date ______________________________________ 4,677,558 Bohmler et al. Jun. 30, 1987 4,751,633 Henn et al. Jun. 14, 1988 4,908,792 Przybyla et al. Mar. 13, 1990 ______________________________________
While field programmability is recognized as a highly desirable feature, there remains a need for more efficient and secure techniques for distributing new software, as well as a need for improved techniques for generating software to support new engine ratings and the like.